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345 recipes

Tmar mehchi (Moroccan almond-stuffed dates)

Tmar mehchi is the stuffed date of Fez and Marrakech, piled high on silver trays at weddings, engagements and Eid, and offered to guests with mint tea. Soft dates are filled with a homemade almond paste perfumed with orange-blossom water, often tinted pale green or pink to match the celebration, then scored with a knife so the filling shows. They are soft, rich and caramel-sweet, with a floral, nutty middle. The paste here is mixed from ground almonds and icing sugar, so there is no shop marzipan, which can contain egg white. It is naturally egg-free: the dates' sticky flesh and a few spoonfuls of orange-blossom water bind the almond filling. Chef's tip: add the orange-blossom water a little at a time and stop when the paste is firm like play dough. The common mistake is a wet paste, which oozes out and makes the dates slippery.

30 minMoroccanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Szaloncukor (Hungarian Christmas tree candy)

Every Hungarian Christmas tree carries szaloncukor: sweets wrapped in shiny foil and fringed paper, hung from the branches in December and quietly eaten, one by one, by everyone in the house until Epiphany. The classic is soft white fondant, but the centres vary: tart fruit jelly, coconut, marzipan or nut. Here there are two fillings, raspberry jelly and coconut fondant, both coated in dark chocolate, so each bite gives a snap of chocolate and then a tender, melting middle. They are lovely with coffee or as a small gift. These are egg-free with no animal setting agent: the fondant is just sugar syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage and worked until it crystallises into a smooth, white paste, so no egg white is needed, and the jelly is set with agar-agar, which gives clean cubes that hold their shape at room temperature. Chef's tip: let the syrup cool to about 45°C before working it; the common mistake is starting while it is still hot, which grows coarse crystals and a gritty fondant.

180 minHungarianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Grillázs (Hungarian walnut brittle)

Grillázs belongs to Hungarian celebrations: it is sold at Christmas fairs and on saints' day markets, and at village weddings a towering grillázs castle or basket is often the centrepiece, broken up and shared at the end of the night. Walnuts are traditional, almonds are the fancier choice. The caramel is cooked to a deep amber, so it tastes rich and slightly bitter-sweet and shatters cleanly, with the toasted nuts giving a softer crunch. Serve shards with coffee, crumble it over ice cream, or press warm sheets over an oiled bowl to make a basket for fruit or sweets. It is naturally egg-free: melted, caramelised sugar sets glass-hard as it cools and holds the nuts together, with a few drops of lemon juice to keep it smooth. Chef's tip: warm the walnuts in the oven before they go in; the common mistake is adding cold nuts, which chill the caramel so it seizes and turns grainy before you can spread it.

40 minHungarianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sült gesztenye (Hungarian roasted chestnuts)

From November until the end of winter, the smell of roasting chestnuts drifts along Budapest's boulevards and around Christmas markets in every Hungarian town, where sellers shake them over charcoal and pour them hot into paper cones. Roasting turns the nuts sweet and soft, mealy like a baked potato but with a gentle nutty sweetness and a hint of smoke where the shell has charred. Eat them straight away, peeled with your fingers while they are hot, with a cup of hot tea, hot spiced apple juice or a bag of roasted pumpkin from the next stall. They are naturally egg-free, a single ingredient with nothing to bind: heat turns the chestnut's starch to sugar and softens it. A short soak in water before roasting adds steam inside the shell, so the nuts cook evenly and peel more easily. Chef's tip: cut a deep cross through the shell on the rounded side of every chestnut; the common mistake is skipping or under-cutting it, and then the steam bursts the chestnuts open in the oven.

30 minHungarianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cuban potaje de garbanzos (vegetarian)Chickpea and pumpkin stew

In Havana and across Cuba, a pot of potaje de garbanzos simmers on the stove for the main meal of the day, and is ladled over white rice with a few slices of fried ripe plantain on the side. Chickpeas cook until creamy with chunks of calabaza (West Indian pumpkin) and potato, then a sofrito of onion, green pepper, garlic and tomato turns the broth thick and orange. Most Cuban cooks add chorizo; this is the vegetarian version, with smoked paprika giving the smoky warmth instead, and it is fully vegan. A bowl gives about 21 g of protein from the chickpeas. Soak the chickpeas for 12 hours first; that time is not counted below. The most common mistake is adding the pumpkin at the start: it dissolves completely, so add it once the chickpeas are nearly tender. Chef's tip: let the potaje rest for half an hour before serving; it thickens and tastes even better the next day.

120 minCubanCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ensalada de berroWatercress salad

In Cuban homes from Havana to Santiago, a plate of peppery watercress with thin rings of onion and a squeeze of lime sits beside the rice, beans and fried plantain at almost every weekday lunch. The dressing is simply lime or sour orange, olive oil and salt, so the cress stays crisp and bright and cuts through richer dishes. It is very light, with about 2 g of protein a portion, so it is purely a side; pair it with black beans and rice for a full meal. The most common mistake is dressing it in advance: watercress wilts in minutes once salted. Chef's tip: keep the thick lower stems out and use only the tender tops and leaves; the salad will be crisp, not stringy.

10 minCubanSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dulce de fruta bomba (Cuban green papaya in syrup)

In Cuba, papaya is called fruta bomba, and its green, unripe fruit is cooked into this old-fashioned dulce, a fixture of home cooking all over the island and often made in big batches to keep. Strips of firm green papaya are simmered slowly in a cinnamon and lime-peel syrup until they turn translucent and chewy, with a candied, honeyed flavour. The Cuban way to eat it is with a slice of salty, crumbly white cheese, which balances the sweetness; a cup of strong coffee goes alongside. The dulce is egg-free by tradition, with nothing to bind: the papaya candies in the sugar syrup, and a short soak in water with a little bicarbonate of soda helps the strips stay firm. Chef's tip: rinse the strips well after the soak and simmer them gently; the common mistake is boiling the syrup fast, which hardens the outside of the papaya before the syrup can soak in.

110 minCubanDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cuban red bean potaje (vegetarian)Red bean and pumpkin stew

Potaje de frijoles colorados is everyday Cuban home cooking, eaten in Havana, Camagüey and Santiago alike as the midday meal over white rice, often with a simple avocado salad. Red kidney beans cook until soft and are thickened with calabaza and potato, then flavoured with a sofrito of onion, pepper, garlic, cumin and oregano. It is usually made with pork or chorizo; this is the vegetarian and vegan version, with smoked paprika and a spoonful of vinegar-pickled pepper brine giving the same savoury depth. A bowl gives about 25 g of protein from the beans. Soak the beans for 12 hours first (not counted below), and boil them hard for 10 minutes before simmering, as raw kidney beans contain a toxin. The most common mistake is salting at the start, which keeps the skins tough. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of sugar in the sofrito is a Cuban touch that rounds out the tomato and beans.

135 minCubanCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sült tök (Hungarian roasted sweet pumpkin)

When the first cold sets in, Hungarian street vendors and market stalls set up their ovens and sell sült tök: thick wedges of sweet pumpkin roasted until the flesh is soft as jam and the edges are caramelised and almost sticky. It is bought hot and eaten on the spot through autumn and winter, often from the same stands that sell roasted chestnuts, and at home it is a simple afternoon treat for children. The flavour is deep and honeyed with a slightly smoky edge from the browned skin; a dusting of cinnamon sugar is optional. Eat it with a spoon straight from the skin, alongside a cup of hot tea or warm apple juice. It is naturally egg-free and needs no binding at all: the pumpkin's own sugars concentrate and caramelise in the oven's dry heat. Chef's tip: pick a dense, dry, deep-orange pumpkin such as a Hungarian sweet pumpkin, kabocha or butternut; the common mistake is using a watery carving pumpkin, which steams instead of caramelising.

60 minHungarianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Belgian frangipane tartlets

Look in the glass counter of a Flemish bakery and between the rice tarts and cream puffs sit rows of frangipanetaartjes: small shortcrust cases with a hidden layer of apricot jam, filled with almond frangipane and glazed with a thin, crackly white icing. Belgians pick them up on Saturday mornings or for a birthday at the office and eat them with coffee. They are buttery, nutty and moist, with a sharp fruity note from the jam. Too much jam is the mistake to watch: it bubbles up through the frangipane and glues the tartlets to the tin. Chef's tip: brush the warm tartlets with hot apricot jam first and let it set before the icing goes on; the jam seals the surface so the glaze stays white and shiny.

60 minBelgianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zöldbableves (Hungarian green bean soup)

Zöldbableves is a summer soup from Hungarian home kitchens, made when green beans are cheap at every market: tender beans in a light broth, soured with a little vinegar and thickened with a paprika roux and sour cream, so it is creamy, gently tart and bright red-orange. It is served as the first course of a weekday lunch or as a light supper with bread. The classic mistake is pouring cold sour cream straight into the hot soup, where it splits into flecks; temper it first. Chef's tip: let the roux turn just golden before adding the paprika off the heat, because paprika burns in seconds and turns bitter.

30 minHungarianSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Moroccan bachkoutouOrange and sesame dunking biscuits

Moroccan grandmothers bake bachkoutou by the trayful and keep them in big tins for the afternoon glass of sweet mint tea, and neighbourhood ovens in Fes and Casablanca bake them for families who bring their dough. These are dry, crunchy little biscuits, not rich at all, made with eggs, sugar and oil rather than butter, with orange zest and a coating of toasted sesame; they are meant to be dunked until they soften slightly. Shapes vary from town to town: fingers, rings and rope twists are all common, and some cooks add aniseed. Too much flour is the easy mistake: the dough should stay soft and slightly sticky, or the biscuits bake heavy and hard rather than crisp and light. Chef's tip: once they are cold, put them back in a warm, switched-off oven for 20 minutes; that extra drying is what makes them keep their snap for weeks.

38 minMoroccanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mákos tészta (Hungarian poppy seed pasta)

Mákos tészta surprises people who meet it outside Hungary: hot wide noodles tossed in butter and finely ground poppy seeds with sugar, eaten as a main course, often on a Friday after a bowl of soup. Children across Hungary grow up on it, and grown-ups still order it in school-canteen-style restaurants in Budapest. The trick is grinding the seeds; whole poppy seeds just roll off the pasta, and the most common mistake is using them unground, which gives a gritty dish with little flavour. Chef's tip: a spice or coffee grinder turns poppy seeds into a fragrant, slightly oily powder in 20 seconds; grind them just before cooking.

17 minHungarianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Meggyes piteSour cherry slice

Hungarian grandmothers bake meggyes pite in a big rectangular tin in June, when sour cherries hang from every garden tree, and the rest of the year with jarred ones from the pantry. Two layers of soft, almost cakey pastry made with sour cream hold a tart, juicy cherry layer, and the top disappears under a snowfall of icing sugar. Squares of it turn up at Sunday lunch, in school lunch boxes and on the plate next to an afternoon coffee. Skipping the semolina is the mistake that gives a soggy middle: it soaks up the cherry juice as it bakes. Chef's tip: drain jarred or thawed cherries in a sieve for a good 30 minutes and keep the juice for a drink or a sauce.

90 minHungarianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SeñoritasCustard slices in puff pastry

Señoritas are a fixture of Cuban bakeries in Havana and Santiago, and of the Cuban-run ventanitas in Miami: two sheets of crisp, flattened puff pastry sandwiching a thick vanilla-and-lemon custard, with a shiny white sugar glaze on top. They are Cuba's cousin of the mille-feuille, eaten mid-morning or after lunch with a tiny cup of sweet café cubano, and they are always in the box for a birthday or a baptism. Adding the custard while it is still warm is where it goes wrong: the pastry goes limp within an hour. Chef's tip: bake the pastry under a second baking tray so it stays flat, thin and evenly crisp, which makes clean cutting far easier.

90 minCubanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Boniato fritoFried white sweet potato

Boniato, the pale, chestnut-sweet sweet potato of the Caribbean, is fried in rounds all over Cuba as an everyday side for picadillo, eggs or rice and black beans, and in Miami's Little Havana it turns up next to most lunch plates. The slices come out golden and lightly crisp outside, fluffy and floury inside. The common mistake is oil that is too hot with slices that are too thick: the outside burns while the middle stays hard, so keep the slices 5 mm and the heat steady. Ordinary orange sweet potato works too, though it is sweeter and browns faster. Chef's tip: drop the cut slices into cold water as you go, as boniato darkens quickly, then dry them very well before frying.

20 minCubanSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CapuchinosYolk sponge cones in spiced syrup

Named for the pointed hoods of Capuchin friars, these little cones of yolk sponge sit in neat rows in Havana dulcerías, glistening with syrup and sold by the half dozen for birthdays and Sunday visits. They're baked in small cone moulds, then dropped into warm syrup scented with lime peel, cinnamon and star anise until heavy and soaked through, so they are moist, eggy and very sweet. The syrup is often spiked with rum or anise liqueur; this one stays alcohol-free. A syrup boiled too thick won't soak in and leaves a sticky crust, so keep it at a light, pourable stage. No cone moulds? Bake them in a mini muffin tin; they just won't have the hood shape. Chef's tip: soak the sponges while they're still warm and the syrup is warm too; both at the same temperature, the syrup goes right to the centre.

75 minCubanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortilla de plátanoRipe plantain omelette

In Havana and across the Cuban countryside, tortilla de plátano is a home supper made from what is in the kitchen: slices of very ripe plantain fried until caramelised, then set in a thick, golden omelette. The sweet fruit against salty egg is the whole point, and it is served with white rice and black beans or a simple tomato salad. The mistake people make is using a plantain that is still yellow and firm; it stays starchy and dry, so wait until the skin is mostly black and the fruit gives when pressed. Chef's tip: flip the tortilla by sliding it onto a plate, covering with the pan and turning both over together, which keeps it whole.

20 minCubanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MariquitasGreen plantain chips

Mariquitas are the thin, glassy green-plantain chips that come in paper cones at Cuban cafeterías in Havana and Miami, always with a little bowl of garlicky mojo for dunking. They are a party and weekend snack, but with a mandoline they are ready in twenty minutes on any evening. The most common mistake is using plantains that have started to ripen: yellow ones are sweet and soft and burn before they crisp, so buy them hard and fully green. Take care with the mandoline and use its guard, and never leave hot oil unattended. Chef's tip: cut long, paper-thin slices lengthwise and drop them into the oil one at a time so they don't stick together.

20 minCubanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CraquelinBrioche with sugar cube pockets

Sugar cubes, of all things, are the secret of the Belgian craquelin. Bakers in Ghent, Bruges and Brussels wrap broken cubes inside rich brioche, and as the loaf bakes they melt into little wells of syrup that set crunchy, while pearl sugar crackles on the crust (hence the name). It is a Sunday breakfast and weekend bakery loaf, sliced thick and eaten plain or with butter and a bowl of café au lait; Flemish bakers sometimes add orange zest. Leaving sugar pieces exposed on the outside, especially the base, is the usual pitfall: they caramelise, burn and glue the loaf to the tin. Chef's tip: chill the kneaded brioche for at least an hour before you fold in the sugar, so the butter firms and the dough is easy to wrap around the cubes.

180 minBelgianBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Túrós lepénySweet curd cheese sheet cake

Hungarians use túró, a dry, crumbly fresh curd cheese, the way other cooks use cream, and túrós lepény is one of its homeliest outings: a thin short pastry base, a deep layer of lemony sweetened curd with raisins, baked in a tray and cut into squares for afternoon coffee, a picnic at Lake Balaton or the school lunch box. The filling is light and tangy rather than dense like a cheesecake, because the egg whites are whipped and folded in. Wet curd is the classic mistake; it weeps and the base goes soggy, so press the cheese through a sieve and use farmer's cheese or well-drained quark if you can't find túró. Chef's tip: take the lepény out while the very centre still has a slight wobble; it sets as it cools and stays creamy instead of cracking.

80 minHungarianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bundás kenyérEgg-fried bread

Bundás kenyér, 'bread in a fur coat', is the Hungarian answer to yesterday's loaf. On weekday evenings across the country, and at Sunday breakfasts in Budapest flats, slices of white bread are dunked in seasoned egg and milk and fried until puffed and golden. Most families eat it savoury, rubbed with raw garlic and served with pickled cucumbers or tea, though children often want jam or a dusting of icing sugar. Chef's tip: use bread that is a day or two old; fresh bread soaks up too much egg and fries up soggy.

15 minHungarianBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sárgaborsó-főzelékSplit pea purée

In Hungarian homes split yellow peas are winter food, and on New Year's Day many families in Budapest eat this thick purée (or lentils) for luck in the coming year. The peas collapse into a smooth, earthy mash flavoured with bay and garlic, and a crown of onions fried until dark gold gives sweetness and crunch. It is usually served beside sausage, but this version is fully vegan and makes a filling meal with fresh bread and pickled cucumbers. Chef's tip: let the onions go slowly to a deep brown in plenty of oil and pour that oil over the purée too, because it carries most of the flavour. Pale, hurried onions are the usual mistake.

65 minHungarianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MelegszendvicsToasted ham and cheese

Melegszendvics is Hungarian student food and the go-to Sunday evening supper in countless Budapest households: slices of bread spread with ketchup or sour cream, topped with ham and grated cheese and baked until the cheese bubbles. Many families own a little sandwich toaster just for it, but a hot oven or grill works just as well. The ham is pork; for a vegetarian version swap it for sliced tomato, peppers and sweetcorn and use a vegetarian cheese. Chef's tip: grate the cheese rather than slicing it, so it melts evenly to the edges and the bread underneath crisps instead of steaming.

15 minHungarianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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